Ryan Jones makes convincing Lions case as Ospreys make amends

With the Lions' captaincy­ seemingly out of his grasp and on its way to Ireland's Paul O'Connell, this was Ryan Jones's last attempt to prove himself worthy of a foot-soldier's spot on this summer's tour to South Africa. Whether the Ospreys skipper has done enough will be revealed tomorrow, but he did his utmost here to impress Warren Gatland, the Wales coach and Lions assistant who was watching.

Jones, who is also the captain of Wales, played on Saturday evening as though he were fighting for survival in Sir Alan ­Sugar's Apprentice boardroom. If nothing else, Jones would make a good midweek captain for the Lions. What he showed best here was an ability to pick his Ospreys side up from their abject failure six days before, when they lost 43–9 to Munster in a Heineken Cup quarter-final. Reputations were damaged and Lions places were in jeopardy after that result.

"Ryan was excellent," Jonathan Humphreys, the Ospreys' assistant coach, said. "I thought he was outstanding. This week has been tough for him after the Munster defeat. There is pressure on him. As a ­captain and as a potential Lions captain, the scrutiny is intense. But when you are out there on the pitch there is none of that. We asked him to lead this team and he led them with abundance."

The Ospreys did not have it all their own way. They trailed 12–3 at half-time and 19–11 on the hour against a Scarlets side who were without their talisman, the fly-half Stephen Jones, who was ruled out on Friday with a hamstring strain. The difference between the teams, however, was in the strength of their replacements. The Ospreys were able to bring on five current Wales players and, helped by a yellow card for the Scarlets prop Deacon Manu, they ran away with it in the final quarter.

The most significant Ospreys replacement saw the return of Lee Byrne, who has not played since the Six Nations thanks to a foot injury. The full-back came on early in the second half and was on the shoulder of a fellow replacement, James Hook, for the try that rounded off the Ospreys' match-winning burst which had been started by a try from Jones. That was after the former All Black flanker Marty Holah had started turning ball over at the breakdown.

The Scarlets had only one Lions candidate on show – the hooker Matthew Rees – which showed how far they have fallen in the past two seasons. So it was a boost for them when they announced the capture of the New Zealand and Queensland openside Daniel Braid on a three-year deal.